


When Eyes Meet

by itskindaafangirlthing



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, a lot of angst I guess, also kinda canon universe, but also lots of fluff, but immature kids at the same time, diaz/buckley family, everything before 3x04 is canon ig, hehe, it's the best way to interrupt conversations and create more angst, just buck and eddie being dads, probably, so it's a disaster bc they both don't talk to each other, they're both each other's support system, will be making use of the firealarm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-01-29 23:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itskindaafangirlthing/pseuds/itskindaafangirlthing
Summary: Buck and Eddie's journey to realize their feelings for each other and also dealing with stuff they went through.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	1. Sugar Shock

**Author's Note:**

> This is me wanting to start writing again because ever since I've finished 9-1-1 my head has been full with so much Buddie-potential I wanted to write it down. So this is a big stretch of how they could become canon.
> 
> Also: bear with me, I haven't really written in ages and I keep mixing up my tenses so yeah

It was the end of today’s shift. As always, Buck and Eddie were walking out of the fire station towards their cars, reminiscing their day.  
“I can’t believe these actually happen. I thought that was just a cliché, that people liked to joke about.” Eddie said, still comprehending the callout they have had earlier today.  
Buck laughed, “Everyone thinks that. And then they are up that ladder, rescuing a cat from a tree.”  
“Yeah.”, Eddie chuckled, but then got distracted when his phone rang. He answered.  
“Hey. Carla? Is everything okay?”  
They had arrived at Buck’s car at this point, but he decided to wait for Eddie to finish his phone call before leaving, wanting to make sure everything was okay.  
“It’s okay. I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll cancel my plans and take him…. Yeah… See you.”  
When Eddie hung up, Buck immediately asked if everything was okay.  
“Just Carla, she was supposed to take Christopher tonight as I’m meeting with a few old friends that are in town, but she has a family emergency and can’t take him.”, Eddie explained and then started typing in his phone, cancelling on his friends, but Buck stopped him.  
“I can take Christopher.”, he offered, “You go meet your friends and pick him up at my place after.”  
“You sure?”, Eddie asked, considering the offer but also not wanting to burden his friend.  
“Yeah, you know how much I love hanging out with him. Also, we haven’t had a game night in ages and I still have yet to manage beating him at UNO. How is it that I keep losing to an eight year old?”  
Eddie laughed, “You do know he’s cheating, right?”  
“What?”, Buck said genuinely surprised, “No. You can’t cheat at UNO. And I’m sure Chris wouldn’t do that. I’d like to think he was raised right, you know.”, he smiled and gave Eddie a little shoulder bump, which has kind of gotten to be a habit, every time they joke about something.  
“He has you wrapped around his finger, doesn’t he?”, Eddie joked, happy about once again being reminded that he had Buck’s support on everything when it came to Christopher.  
“Don’t pretend like it’s not the same with you.”  
Eddie smiled and nodded in agreement. Talks like this really showed them how good friends they were, both not having a lot of people to talk to this familiarly.  
“Anyway, Chris is with my abuela right now, I can get him and bring him to your place or if you want you can also pick him up yourself, if that fits with you.”, Eddie said before getting his car keys out.  
“I’ll get him, no problem. It’s on my way back anyway.”  
Eddie approved, before saying goodbye by patting his friend on the shoulder and then turning around. Buck waits for Eddie to reach his car, before unlocking his own and driving home, thinking about what to cook for him and Christopher tonight.

Excited to hang out with Christopher, Buck made his way to Eddie’s abuela. She answered the door, telling Buck that she just got Eddie’s text about the change of plans. Then she called for Christopher who apparently was still in the living-room. His face lit up when he saw Buck.  
“Buck!”, he exclaimed and walked over to give him a hug.  
Buck loved it. He really enjoyed being around Christopher and was just as excited when he saw him.  
“Where’s Carla?”, Chris then asked. Buck assumed he didn’t know yet.  
“She can’t tonight, so you’re getting to hang out with me. Hope that’s okay buddy.”  
Chris yelled in excitement, “Of course. You’re letting me do way more cool stuff anyway.”  
Lovingly Buck ruffled Christopher’s hair and then turned back to the woman standing next to him.  
“It’s so nice of you to help out so much.”, she says giving Buck a friendly smile. “Eddie is really lucky to have a friend like you.”  
“I’m the lucky one, getting to hang out with the best kid. Christopher is really special.”, he looks back at Christopher who is putting his shoes on. Buck sometimes wonders how he found himself in a situation where someone would trust him with his kid. Mostly though, he was just glad about the time he gets to spend with Christopher.

Eddie knew it was later than he had told Buck that he’d be gone for. But he figured it wouldn’t be an issue as he knew how much Buck and Chris enjoyed each other’s company. He made his way up to the floor Buck’s flat was at and while in the elevator, once again looked at the Selfie his friend had send him a few hours ago. 43 pictures he now had, in a seperate folder as he knew Chris would want to keep them, of Buck and Christopher, smiling or making silly faces. He appreciated getting the updates from Buck when he was with Chris, but he also wondered if Buck kept sending them because he feared Eddie didn’t trust him with Chris after what happened at the Pier. Though it was probably more about Buck not fully trusting himself.  
When he stood in front of Buck’s door he decided not to ring the bell, as it was already late and even though he tried to convince Buck not to leave a spare key under his doormat he knew the idiot still had it there. Not wanting to wake a possibly sleeping Christopher, he took the key and unlocked the door. It was quiet in the flat so he didn’t say anything and walked over to the living room. The scene to which he walked on made his heart burst. There was his son, crawled up next to his best friend on the couch. Both asleep but an open book about firefighters on Buck’s lap, as if they fell asleep reading it. The scene was so peaceful, part of Eddie wanted to take out his phone and take a picture to capture it. But before he could even properly think about it, he saw Buck move which shook him out of his almost-trance.  
Buck slowly opens his eyes and first thing he sees is a man standing in his living room. He almost jumps up from the sofa in shock, before he realizes the boy sleeping next to him and that he just woke him up by moving too fast. He looks back at the man only now processing that it’s Eddie, here to pick up Christopher.  
“Geez, Eddie you scared me.”, he says and rubs his eyes.  
“Sorry.”, Eddie quickly apologizes but also tries to hide a smirk.  
When Christopher fully awoke he noticed his dad as well. “Dad! Buck read me that book you got me and then fell asleep before he finished it.”  
“No I did not. You fell asleep first, mister.”, Buck insisted but wasn’t so sure himself if that was the truth.  
“Yes. You drool when you sleep.”, Chris said, trying to prove his statement.  
“Oh, so you drool.”, Eddie teased Buck and walked over to Christopher.  
Buck snorted and shook his head. There was no point in trying to fight something Christopher says, he can’t compete with the boy. Also, he knew it was true.  
“Don’t worry Buck. At least you don’t snore like my dad.”  
Eddie felt his face turn red, he knew he snored sometimes, just didn’t think it was audible in Chris’ room. Buck laughed, “Okay buddy, enough with the calling people out. I’ll get your stuff so your dad can take you home.”  
Buck got up to collect all the legos laying around.  
Christopher turned to his dad, “Buck and I will go to the zoo next week, they have a baby lion there and I want to see it.”  
Before Eddie could comment on that Buck cut in, “Only if that’s okay with you of course. We just talked about it and I said we would have to check with you first.”  
Eddie smiled “Yeah, sure.”, he turned to Chris, “Is your dad allowed to come along as well?”  
“Maybe.”, Chris says, “If he lets me have as much candy as Buck always does.”  
Buck blushes and looks over to Eddie, hoping that comment wouldn’t make him question Buck’s sense of responsibility. “I’m sorry.”, he says “But you know I can’t resist Christopher’s pleading look.”  
Only now Eddie noticed the empty candy-wrappers on the table. He laughed. “I get it. He got the sweetness from his father.” he teased. “I will just make sure he doesn’t end up having a Sugar Shock and I guess we’ll be fine.”  
They make their way to the door as Eddie feels they have taken up enough of Buck’s time already.  
“Thank you again.”, Eddie says as he opens the door, “For always helping out like that.”  
“Always a pleasure.” Buck says as he ruffles Chris’ hair before turning back to Eddie. “How was your night?”  
“Great. Yeah. Good talks. Some laughs. You know.”, Eddie answered shortly not really feeling like there was anything special to tell about his night. To be honest, he enjoyed those few minutes with Buck and Chris more than the hours he spend with his old friends.  
Buck nods but doesn’t say anything. Neither does Eddie and they end up just looking at each other for maybe a few seconds too long.  
“Goodnight then.”, Eddie finally breaks the silence.  
“Goodnight.”, Buck says and then moves to his knees to face Christopher. “And goodnight to you buddy. Don’t give your dad too much grief, yeah?”  
Chris nods and gives Buck a hug. “Goodnight, Buck.”  
Before they finally leave Eddie can’t stop himself from making another teasing comment, “Try not to soak your pillow.”  
Offended Buck shakes his head, “Goodnight.” He closes the door as Eddie walks aways laughing, Christopher in front of him. When the door is closed Buck smiles as well. On days like these, the world seems like a really nice place to live in.

The following week went by as always. Eddie and Buck being a team at work, joking a lot, having fun, enjoying the time they spend together and with the team. They had also had a really nice day at the zoo. Christopher enjoyed it a lot and with Buck’s help even got his dad to buy him some of his favourite sweets. As usual, when the three of them went out together, some people told them how adorable “their” son was and how nice it is that he has “two dads”. Buck and Eddie never get offended by it, they just thank them and then never give much more thought to it. They never felt like it’s something they have to discuss, being sure they know what the other thinks about it anyway, without actually thinking about it themselves.

That week’s friday morning, Buck went to work with a happy mood and a little spring in his step. He walked towards the lockers, where Hen, Chim and Eddie were already getting ready.  
“Good Morning everyone, isn’t it a beautiful day today?”, he says as he walks in.  
“You’re in a good mood.”; Hen notes.  
“Hot date?”, Chim then asks, looking to explain Buck’s mood.  
But before Buck could answer himself, Eddie cuts in with a snort as if Buck having a date was a ridiculous assumption, “He’s having Christopher tonight.”  
“Yeah, I do.”, Buck says, “And I have a really nice evening planned.” He was really excited to show Christopher that he got him the lego set he wanted, so he could leave it at his place and not have to bring his own every time he went to Buck’s which had gotten a lot recently.  
“Okay. Actually, when was the last time you were on a date?”, Chimney asked changing the topic back to Buck’s dating-life. Which was non-existent and everyone knew it.  
“Was there ever anyone after the earthquake-girl?”, Hen then asked, knowing the answer was no.  
Eddie tried to give Hen and Chim a look to stop them talking about this, as he knew Buck didn’t like to talk about what happened with Ali.  
“Well I’d like to say I’m on a dating hiatus, okay? Doesn’t mean I will end up alone and bitter.”, Buck then said, not wanting to go into it further.  
For some reason Hen and Chimney exchanged a look that neither Buck nor Eddie seemed to decode.  
“What?”, Buck then asks, wanting to know what it was about, but before he could get an answer the fire alarm went off and their conversation was over.

When they arrive at the scene, the police is already there. While Athena fills Bobby in on what happened, Buck and Eddie get some of the gear.  
“Thank you again. For letting me have Christopher today.”, Buck says, still excited.  
“Well he seems to enjoy your place more than ours lately so it’s good.”, Eddie says, not sure what his intention was with that statement.  
“You know that’s not true, right?”, Buck tries to reassure Eddie, hoping this wasn’t something he actually believed. That Chris liked hanging out with him more than his dad. Buck knew that wasn’t true and if it wouldn’t have seemed a bit weird, he’d tell his friend that the subject he and Chris talked about most was actually Eddie.  
But before they could continue the conversation, Bobby called them over. It was the usual car crash scene they had already expected. What Buck had not expected though, was the injured person’s leg being stuck below the car. Just like his had been those months ago. He must have missed Bobby’s instructions because suddenly everyone moved and rushed to the scene. Buck froze for a second, staring at the image in front of him, not the seeing actual one, but the memory of his accident. The others hadn’t noticed Buck staying behind, it was just Bobby who realized after a few seconds. He then walks up to him.  
“Buck, you okay?”, he asks worried. It got Buck back to reality and he was finally able to shook the image out of his head. When he looked over at the scene again, he saw Eddie looking at them worried, now also having noticed Buck staying behind.  
“I’m fine.”, Buck assures Bobby and then quickly makes his way to the others to help them.  
It didn’t take long for the rest of the 118 to notice Buck being a bit distracted and definitely not in his good mood anymore.  
On the way back to the station, Buck seems to miss all the worried looks the others, especially Eddie, keep giving him. No one really talks until they’re back at the station getting changed.  
“Brought back some memories?”, Hen asks Buck, and supportingly puts her arm on his back.  
Buck nods, “Yeah, but I’m okay.”, he says, only half convincing everyone.  
Eddie worried, questioning if he should offer to take Christopher so Buck could rest, but he decided it was probably a good distraction and thinking about the good mood Buck was in before, maybe Chris could bring that back.

When Eddie goes to pick up Christopher from Buck’s that night, the young boy is already asleep. Buck was still awake this time, but he looked really tired. “Thank you, for letting me spend time with Christopher today. We had a great evening.”,Buck says less enthusiastically than Eddie was used to. It still seemed genuine though.  
“No problem.”, Eddie answers. He could obviously see that Buck was still bothered by what happened at work and if it hadn’t been for his sleeping kid, he definitely would have stayed and tried to talk to Buck. Trying to get him to open up and help him feel better. Be there for him and make sure he was okay. But he had to get Christopher home. Eddie went to carefully pick Chris up from the couch, deciding that he should try to keep him asleep.  
Buck and Eddie only exchanged a few words to say goodbye before Eddie left. It worried Eddie, a lot. They usually joke, or tease each other. It was always something Eddie enjoyed but tonight the atmosphere felt cold. Reminding him of when Buck used to hide in his flat, not wanting to get out of bed for days.

When he finally arrived at home, having successfully not woken up Christopher, he carried him to his bed. Of course it was now that Chris moved and slowly opened his eyes.  
“Go back to sleep.”, Eddie said softly, tucking Chris in.  
“Where’s Buck?”, Chris asked with his sleepy voice and Eddie explained to him how he fell asleep and then slept on the whole way back home.  
“Is Buck gonna be okay on his own?”, Chris’ voice now sounded as if he was again only minutes away from sleeping.  
“Why do you ask?”, Eddie answered, curious if Buck had said anything to him.  
Chris yawned and only gave a small answer before falling back to sleep.  
“He seemed sad.”


	2. Thanksgiving

Eddie didn’t talk to Buck over the weekend. He wanted to, but he couldn’t find the time to call him or show up at his flat, as he had a lot of new paperwork he had do deal with from Chris’ school. He was convinced though, to try and talk to his friend on Monday, as they both were at work that day.

When Eddie gets there, it feels like just any other day. He walks to the changing rooms, the others already being there, and even Buck was back in his usual mood. He was laughing at some stupid joke Chimney made and Eddie saw Hen shaking her head.

Suddenly, Eddie wasn’t so sure about talking to Buck about what happened on Friday anymore. He seemed so normal today, Eddie didn’t want to risk him feeling worse again.

They all went upstairs to get a coffee, talking about their thanksgiving plans, as it was the following week. Eddie was glad he got that day off, as he was going to visit his family. 

Before they could all sit down and drink their coffees, the alarm went off.

  
  


They arrive at the scene, having a big burning house in front of them. It was the usual protocol, but then a woman came up to them.

“Please, someone, my husband is still in there.”, she desperately claimed, the despair being written in her face.

“We will do everything we can, but we have to make sure it’s safe to go in there first.”; Bobby explained to her.

Buck saw how worried she was and he knew it could be too late until they got the clear. 

“What’s your husband’s name?”, he asked her making Bobby a bit suspicious.

“Marcus.”

Buck nodded and without thinking he just ran to the building, he had all the necessary tools with him, as he would have been the one to go in anyway. He heard Bobby and the others yell after him but he chose to ignore. He made his way in, fighting through the flames and collapsing furniture. He kept calling out for the man, not getting an answer at first. But then he saw him, crawling on the floor, covering his mouth with his shirt.

Buck quickly made his way there, though he could barely see much because of all the smoke. He kept yelling after the man.

“Okay, Marcus I’m going to get you out of here.”, he tried to reassure the man who seemed to only notice him now. He put his arm around him and made sure they would be able to move.

“I tried to get out, but I couldn’t see.”, the man coughed as Buck helped him make his way out.

When they finally got out of the almost collapsing house, Buck quickly got the man to Chimney and Hen, so they could take care of him. He saw the relief in the wife’s eyes and she mouthed a silent “thank you” before turning back to her husband who was being treated.   
Buck felt someone pull him aside.   
“Are you stupid!”, Bobby asked him, though it sounded more like a statement. “What the hell were you thinking? I thought you got over doing stuff like this!”

He was obviously mad and Buck didn’t even know what to say to him. He knew what he did would probably get him into real trouble, but he just had to do it. He couldn’t really tell Bobby why though. But it hurt. Seeing Bobby mad and maybe even disappointed.   
“I’m sorry.”, he just said, but he saved a man’s life. Both of them knew he wasn’t sorry for that.

“We’ll talk more about this at the station.”; Bobby then sighed and gave Buck more instructions before leaving him. Buck did as he was told and tried his best to avoid talking to anyone else.

  
  


As they were getting ready to leave, Eddie approached Buck. He reached for his arm, holding him by his bicep, wanting to show his support.

“Hey, you okay?”, he asks genuinely worried about his friend and now regretting thinking everything was okay just because he was in a good mood this morning. If Eddie knew anything it was how easy it was to fake a smile.

But Buck didn’t want Eddie’s support. He didn’t want to talk or be looked at with worry. Why couldn’t they all just leave him be?

“I’m fine.”, he snaps at him, a bit too harsh and pulls his arm away, turning his back to Eddie, who tries not to be too hurt. He bit his tongue and then decided not to push Buck. If he didn’t want his help, he wouldn’t force him. But he was not ready to give up just yet.

  
  
  


When Buck arrives at home that day, the first thing he does is throw himself onto the couch and turn the TV on. He takes a few breaths, deciding to push away all the annoying thoughts in his head and to distract himself. It wasn’t so easy though, part of him was really mad at the Cap for having yelled at him, but he knew Bobby was right. The anger in him was actually more directed at himself. He let that crash last week get to him and then he messed up today. But it was easier for him to try and keep those thoughts locked away and blame other people.

Trying to distract himself further, he took out his phone.

Bad idea.

7 missed messages and 3 missed calls from Eddie. He knew what they would be about, but he still had to check, because he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t about Christopher. His first instinct was right though. Eddie just wanted to make sure he was okay and it was actually pissing Buck off. Even after he snapped at him and pushed him away, Eddie still wasn’t giving up. It was right this moment also, that Eddie tried calling him again. Without hesitation, Buck declined the call. To stop him, Buck decided to quickly text Eddie a simple “I’m okay.” and hope he’ll leave it at that.

He put his phone down again, wanting to actually distract himself now. He took the remote and started switching through the channels, hoping to find something he’d be at least a bit interested in.

Just as he was starting to relax and not think about what was worrying him, his doorbell rang. Slowly getting really mad again, he got up from the couch and made his way to the door.

“I swear, Eddie if that’s you-”

He opens the door and to his surprise it wasn’t the dark haired man in front of him, but his sister.

“Maddie.”, he said startled and she made her way past him, not waiting for him to invite her in.

Buck closes the door behind him and then follows Maddie, who went to the living room and turned off the TV.

“What are you doing here?”, he asks, not being sure if he’s also pissed at her.

“I’ve heard you’ve been struggling and I wanted to check on you.”, she sits down on the couch, offering for Buck to sit down next to her, but Buck stands still.

“Oh let me guess, Chimney?”, Buck said annoyed, knowing whatever he now did at work, Maddie would know because Chim would tell her.

“Well, actually yeah, but no… Eddie called me, asking me to check on you because he thought I was the only who could actually get you to talk.”

Buck was a bit surprised by this, it showed him that Eddie was actually worried but also made him more mad at him. Why couldn’t he just leave him alone?

“Well I’m fine. I made a risky decision at work but that’s it.”, Buck tried to end this conversation as soon as possible.

“Buck, please. It’s me, just be honest for once.”

Buck looked at his sister. He saw she was really worried about him and he hated to see his sister like this. He sighed and sat down next to her.

“I just don’t think talking about it would make it better.”, he confessed.

“You can try?”, Maddie says hopeful, making Buck realize they all really just want to help him. And Maddie has always been the easiest to talk to for him.

“It started last friday. You know I was fine, got over what happened and moved on as good as I could. But then we got called to this accident and it.. it brought everything back.”, Buck took a deep breath and then hid his face in his hands. 

“Your accident?”, Maddie asked, trying to keep Buck talking.

“Yes. But not just the injury, also everything after that. You know, the not being able to work part, the ali leaving part, the blood cloth, the almost losing everything I cared about. I just got reminded of how it felt when I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back to work. Like nothing was gonna be the same.”, Buck tried his best not to break out into tears. These memories hurt, some more than the other, but all he went through got too much at some point. His sister put her arm around him, pulling him towards her. She wanted to say something but knew Buck wasn’t done yet.

“And when I froze that day, at work, and Bobby noticed, all I could think about was, him putting me back on light duty because of it. I know he wouldn’t do that but I was so scared, so today… when I saw that woman begging us to save her husband…”

“You ran in there to prove that you’re still at 100%”, Maddie finished his sentence and Buck just nodded, feeling stupid now, realizing how messed up he had been.

Now that he had told her what’s really been going on in his head, it was way easier to talk about it with her. And she listened to him and as always, knew exactly what the right thing to say was. They talked for quite some time, to the point where Buck was really glad she was here and that he had talked to her. It really made him feel better.

Before she left Maddie hugged her brother real tight. 

“Please do me a favour, next time you feel like this, talk to someone. It doesn’t have to be me. Maybe even go to a professional.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll try.”, Buck said, not being sure if he would but he could at least try, though he hoped he wouldn’t have to.

Maddie was about to leave but she turned around once more.

“Oh and also, please, talk to Eddie. Or at least tell him that you talked to me and it’s better now. He was genuinely worried about you so… don’t keep pushing him away. You might end up regretting that real bad.”

Buck nodded before closing the door behind her after she finally left.

He thought about calling Eddie. But he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to put all this on him, talking to Maddie helped but he really didn’t want to talk to anyone else if he could help it. 

Even Eddie.

But Maddie was right. Eddie deserved to at least know that his plan helped.

Buck walked to where he left his phone and picked it up. There were no more messages or missed calls from Eddie, making Buck realize that he probably already knew from Maddie that she was here. Still, Buck typed a simple message, meaning it very sincerely though.

‘Thank you’

  
  
  


After that Buck felt everything slowly getting back to normal. He was much more relaxed and so were the others with him, noticing he wasn’t struggling so much anymore. And If he was he always remembered himself of that talk with Maddie and how she showed him that he needs to stop worrying so much, that he’s a real good firefighter who is allowed to make mistakes sometimes.

One night, they all decided to go to a bar after their shift. Buck thought they didn’t do it enough, but he understood as Hen and Eddie both had kids to get home to and Chimney always invited Maddie as well so they would go to her place anyway. But tonight, all four of them went out together. Eddie would have to leave earlier to get Chris, but Hen, Chim and Buck would stay as long as they wanted as their next shift was next day’s night shift and surely they would be fit to work by then.

There was a nice, familiar atmosphere around them and they enjoyed exchanging stories, talking about stuff that happened at work, like Buck getting fired for stealing a firetruck to hook up with a girl, what to Chim’s surprise, Eddie hadn’t known yet. 

“Wow, I always figured you used to be a... flirty person, but this.”, Eddie joked and Hen almost spit out her drink.

“Well that was Buck 1.0, he’s not with us anymore.”, Buck said proudly, knowing how much he had changed regarding this after everything that happened with Abby.

“You don’t say.”, Chim said, not sure if he intended everyone to hear, but it kinda sounded like he knew something the others, including Buck, didn’t.

“What?”, Buck asked confused.

“I’m just saying, maybe there is someone you’ve already given your heart to.”, Chim explained, as if it was something he had discussed before.

Buck huffed, “Yeah who?”

“I know who you’re gonna end up with.”; Eddie said and now Hen actually almost choked on her drink. After they made sure she was okay, everyone turned back to Eddie to get an answer. For some reason, Chim and Hen seemed more intrigued by it than Buck, which he found weird, as if there really was something he didn’t know.

“Well now the joke’s ruined but I was gonna say the cat we recently saved, as you were sooo gentle with her.”

Buck gave Eddie a small hit to the shoulder. “Thanks man, for telling me I’m gonna end up as a sad old cat lady.”

“Didn’t say anything about sad.”, Eddie said and raised his hands in defense.

Hen and Chim were once again exchanging a look that neither Buck nor Eddie could quite put their finger on. “What?”, Buck once again asked.

“Nothing.”, Hen blows him off, and Buck decides not to ruin the mood and ignore it.

The night went on and Buck got more and more drinks. Eddie was the only one holding back, having in mind that he still has to get Christopher later. Still, he, just like Buck, didn’t notice how close the two of them kept getting, shoulders and knees, constantly bumping together. It is not until Buck almost knocks over Eddie’s beer, that he moves a bit to the side. Eddie was actually really enjoying seeing the others get drunk, especially Buck, as he gets so soft when he does, but he had to leave to get Chris. He said goodbye and left the others, who had a really fun night ahead of them.

  
  
  


The next day, when they all have their shift in the afternoon, Chim, Hen and Buck all arrive together, with Eddie already being in the changing room. When they walk in, Eddie laughs, “Long night?”

Chim sighs, “That obvious?”

“You look fine. Hen just looks a bit tired but Buck. Buddy, you look like you haven’t slept in days.”, Eddie was obviously exaggerating but he was kinda amused by the thought of how horrible they must have felt this morning, while he had a nice relaxing breakfast with his son.

“Well, I have slept”, Buck starts defending himself, “I slept 10 hours and I’m feeling fine, I’m ready to work this shift.”, he announces enthusiastically. 

Eddie knew the three of them were feeling better than they looked because they wouldn’t go to work if they weren’t up to it. Still, it did look as if at least Buck had had a real rough morning.

“You know, Eddie you missed the best part last night.”, Chim now said.

“Yeah?”, Eddie asked, wondering now what they got up to.

Hen laughed, “Definitely.” They were both looking at Buck who now looked embarrassed, so it was obvious who this was about.

“Anyway,” Hen continued, “so it all started with Buck asking random people if they thought he was gonna end up being a sad old cat lady, which actually only ended up in more women flirting with him, but he was more concerned about the cat than the women.”

“Or you know, when someone asked him how he got that bruise on his face, his birthmark, and he freaked out because he didn’t remember who punched him.”, Chim then continued.

Buck cut in, “Oh come on, don’t act all innocent in this you took your time to tell me they meant my birthmark.”

“UUh, you angry at me now? Maybe you can call daddy Bobby and tell him.”, Chim joked and suddenly Buck went really quiet and Hen was holding back a hard laugh.

Chimney then turned to Eddie to explain. “We had to stop him from calling Bobby. He wanted to tell him what great a dad he was and that if he was a minor he would definitely ask him to adopt him.”

“Thanks for not letting him do that.”, a very familiar voice now said and they all turned around to see Bobby standing there. 

Buck’s face must have turned blood red with embarrassment and everyone else was trying so hard not to laugh out loud. Of course they all kind of thought of Bobby as a dad but Buck talking about it openly to Hen and Chim like that was just horribly hilarious.

“I’m sorry Cap, I know you’re not… you know my dad. I have a dad, well he’s not around, but yeah well that’s not the point… I’m ..”, Buck started to ramble on but Bobby stopped him. “Buck, just shut up.”, Bobby said and tried to hide a smirk.

Buck nodded like a small kid being told off. But then the fire alarm went off and Buck was happy for this conversation to be over.

  
  
  


On thanksgiving day, Buck and Chim were the only ones working. As Maddie was working as well they had decided to not have thanksgiving dinner this year but have christmas together instead. 

Buck and Chimney were upstairs, drinking coffee and talking. For some reason it has been pretty quiet given the fact that it was thanksgiving.

“Let’s get real, Buck. Why haven’t you started dating again?”, Chim asked Buck, after they had already brushed the subject of everyone being home with their families and partners.

“Just no one who has caught my eye.”, Buck said and shrugged. He knew everyone always said you will find someone when you stop looking but for Buck it seemed the opposite. It always felt to him like he had to have a woman in his life, even if it was just for a night. But ever since the tsunami and all the chaos his life was back then, he didn’t feel like that anymore. It’s not that he didn’t want someone to spend his time with but that he was completely satisfied with the people he already did spend it with.

“Okay, well if there is anything you need to tell me, like a secret spouse, you can always talk to me.”, Chim joked, though Buck felt like Chim thought he was actually hiding something.

“And what about you.”, Buck changed the subject, “You and my sister have been dating forever and you’re not even talking about moving in together.”

“Well, it’s not like I wouldn’t want it. I just don’t want her to feel like I’m pushing too much. With everything that happened I want her to feel safe and comfortable. Not like I’m trying to get her to do something she isn’t ready to.”, Chimney explained and Buck was glad to know how much Chim cared for his sister.

“You don’t need to overthink it too much. Being careful is always good, but Maddie loves you. And she knows you’re not like Doug.”

A notification from Buck’s phone paused their conversation. “Sorry, just a sec.”, Buck said and took out his phone. It was a message from Eddie.

“Happy thanksgiving from Chris and me.”, the message said and there was a photo attached to it, of the two of them, both smiling widely. It made Buck smile as well and he showed the picture to Chim like a proud dad.

He then started typing his answer but got interrupted by a fire alarm and had to leave.

  
  


Eddie looks at his phone. The chat is telling him that Buck is typing but then it stops and no message arrives. He figures there was an alarm and that Buck had to leave in a hurry before he could send it. Though it wouldn’t have taken much to just press send. Part of Eddie worried if he had already been on a call and if something had happened.

But he had to stop always worrying about Buck, he knew that.

He looked up again, watching Christopher entertain his family, being the cutest kid in the world. He knew he wouldn’t survive these family holidays if Chris wasn’t with him. 

His thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.”, he said, being glad about an excuse to get off the table for a minute. While he was walking to the door, he quickly checked his phone again. Still no answer from Buck. 

He opens the door and there is a woman in front of him that he thinks he saw before but doesn’t really recognize.

“Eddie.”, she says, as if he was the person she had wanted to see.

“Yeah?”, he answers, not wanting to ask who she is in case he should know.

“I’m Lisa. Shannons old friend from school.”, she finally connected the dots for Eddie. He still didn’t know why she was here though. Especially on this day.

“I’m sorry, I know my timing is horrible and I would have come another day but I had to be sure you were here.”. she started explaining but Eddie still didn’t get what was happening.

“Shannon stayed with me sometimes when she was taking care of her mother. A few days ago I found this.”, she took out a small book, whose cover was plain brown.

“It’s her diary. I don’t think she wrote in it often, but still. I thought it was better for you to have it than her parents.”

Eddie took the book and looked at it. He didn’t know what to say, what to think or how to feel. 

“Anyway, that is why I came here. I’ll leave now. Sorry for disturbing you, happy thanksgiving.” she said and then left before Eddie knew what to say so he wordlessly closed the door. 

He was taken back for a bit but decided to just put the diary away and have a look at it before going to sleep. He then returns to his family, trying to get his head back to reality. He had even forgot to worry about Buck for a minute, but then he takes his phone out again to check for messages. This time there are two of them.

‘Happy thanksgiving to you two as well.’

‘Sorry, duty called. Tell Chris he needs to tell me all about the good food you guys had.’

Eddie smiles. One less thing to bother his thoughts.

  
  
  


About a week later, when their daily life had gotten back to normal, Buck realized that Eddie has been a bit off since thanksgiving. Nothing bad but just small minor things that made him worry. When Buck and Chimney were meeting with Maddie at her place to have dinner, Buck asked Chim if he had noticed anything but he just reckoned Eddie had been in a bad mood so Buck dropped it, hoping it really was just that.

“Oh no.”, Maddie suddenly exclaimed from the kitchen and Buck and Chim both went there.

“I forgot to buy my favourite bottle of wine and it really goes so well with what I’m cooking but I can’t leave now that I already started…”, she said hinting that someone should go get it, but something about her was weird.

“I’ll get it.”, Buck says, already turning to where his jacket was.

Quickly, Maddie stopped him though. “No! I need you here, Chim can go.”

Chimney and Buck looked at her confused. “I need you to cut the onions. I can stand seeing you cry more than him, so.”, she tried to explain but it did confuse the boys just more.

“Er- okay. I’ll be back soon then.”, Chimney said, having no clue why his girlfriend was so desperate to get rid off him, but he wasn’t gonna protest.

When Chim was gone, Buck turned to his sister.

“You don’t really need me to cut onions, do you?”, Buck asks curious.

“Of course not, this recipe doesn’t even need onions.”, she explains.   
“Okay then what the hell? Why do you want to get rid of Chimney then? You do know he already is scared of pushing you too much, I don’t know what he’s gonna think of this.”

“That’s why I want to talk to you alone.”, she says, still not making any more sense.

“You’re not breaking up with him, right?”, Buck asks, already imagining all the consequences their breakup could bring.

“What? No! The opposite.”, she now says with a big smile, “I want to propose. And I need your help to do it.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't think this was gonna be so long, anyway I know Buck probably wouldn't be drinking if he was still on meds bc of the accident but it was too late when I realized and also my tenses are still horrible but yeah happy thanksgiving or whatever


End file.
